DISASTER: The abandoned church gives a rare glimpse into what life was like before the disaster

“It was amazing to see a holy house in such a decaying zone, in a condition like this”

Andre Friesen

The abandoned church gives a rare glimpse into what life was like before the nuclear disaster in 1986 in Ukraine.

Despite decay around the building, the church stands in near-perfect condition.

The extraordinary building lies in the forbidden village of Krasne – west of the Pripyat River.

A huge exclusion zone was put in place around the Soviet nuclear plant after the catastrophic meltdown.

CATERS

EERIE: The inside of the church inside the Chernobyl no-go zone

Andre Friesen, a seasoned Chernobyl explorer, from Herford, Germany, who documented the Church's miraculous state, said: "It was amazing to see a holy house in such a decaying zone, in a condition like this.

"The atmosphere in there was incredible after seeing all the rundown houses in the city of Pripyat.

"It's a drastic contrast to most buildings in the exclusion zone, which is still not prohibited to be lived in by humans."

It is thought that occasionally priests return to the church to hold special rituals.

On the altar, Andre unearthed a letter from a previous priest urging any visitors to take good care of the church.

Andre said: "I've been exploring Pripyat since 2008 and I've never seen anything quite like this before.

"I'm hoping to return in spring 2017, to see if anything else like this still exists."